Dogs D'Amour

As out of control as glam rock got in the late '80s, few artists could top the levels of debauchery and excess achieved by England's Dogs d'Amour. Led by singer, guitarist, songwriter and warped poet Tyla, the group's albums never caught on with a wider mainstream audience, but became cult favorites in their homeland. Initially based in Birmingham, Tyla started the band in 1983 with singer Ned Christie, guitarist Nick Halls, bassist Karl Watson, and drummer Bam Bam, before heading to London, where they played their first show on April 12th. When Christie quit later that year, Tyla took over lead vocals before packing the entire band off to Finland (presumably riding the coattails of Europe's most promising would-be glam superstars of the time, Hanoi Rocks). During their short stay, the group released a single, "How do You Fall in Love," followed by their first album The State We're In in September 1984. Returning to England early the next year, Dogs d'Amour found themselves playing the same seedy clubs and no-hope gigs as before. Over the next three years, they only managed to squeeze a few recording sessions and the odd high-profile opening slot for visiting stars to go with their never-ending personnel changes. It wasn't until 1988 that a road-tested lineup containing guitarist Jo-Dog, bassist Steve James, drummer Bam, and the ever-present Tyla finally caught a break and signed a record deal with China Records. (Un)authorized Bootleg Album -- a mostly acoustic grab-bag of the previous years' sporadic sessions -- became the band's second album, and their third, the critically acclaimed In the Dynamite Jet Saloon arrived only a few months later, but stalled at Number 97 on the U.K. charts. The all-acoustic A Graveyard of Empty Bottles E.P. followed in March 1989, and...